BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The Kentville Wildcats’ season-opening winning streak was snapped at four games with a 4-3 loss to the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry Thursday evening at Beazley Field.

Dartmouth starter Steve Nelson allowed just three hits over eight innings and struck out 12 to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Craig Langille pitched the ninth inning to earn a save.

Kentville turned its three hits into three runs with the help of six Dartmouth errors. Wildcats’ starter Corey Kent, who pitched the first five innings and allowed all four Dartmouth runs before giving way to Curtis Falls, took the loss.

The Moosehead Dry, who picked up their first win of the season after losses in their first two games, had three singles apiece from Chris Head and Chris Goodie and a two-run single from Darren Doucette among their nine hits.

The Wildcats had improved to 4-0 to start the season with a 7-0 shutout of the Halifax Pelham Canadians Tuesday, May 27 at Mainland Common in Halifax.

Trevor Wamback, a former Sackville and Halifax senior pitcher and Montreal Expos farmhand, threw five scoreless innings in his Wildcats’ debut. Kevin Nichols and former Dartmouth righty Pete Sonier completed the shutout.

Wamback, Nichols and Sonier combined to limit Halifax to just three hits, all singles.

Meanwhile, Kentville scored seven runs on seven hits off Halifax starter Pat MacInnis and relievers Andrew MacIntosh and Mark Haverstock, scoring once in the second and two runs apiece in the fourth, seventh and ninth.

Centrefielder Rob Shepherd led the offense with a triple, single and two RBIs, and Kevin Benjamin singled and doubled.

The Wildcats, who opened the season with five games in seven days, are next in action June 4 when the Truro Bearcats visit Memorial Park for a 7:30 p.m. start.